Destiny Brings a Second Chance
by Saphro9
Summary: Pyrrha Nikos died atop the tower that night, her ashes scattered to the winds, only to wake up the morning of the First Year Examination. Thinking it just a horrible nightmare she pushes it from her mind. But the more that things change, the more she wonders if her constant nightmares are more than just dreams.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Back to the First

 _She had failed and she knew it. Her sword lay broken behind her. Her shield lost in the darkness. A long black arrow stuck out from her heel, the tendon sliced through. There would be no more walking for her, let alone fighting. The enemy had beaten her._

 _Cinder Fall knelt down, cold hand cupping her cheek. The woman lifted her face up, amber pools staring triumphantly into emerald. "Take comfort that I will use these powers in ways that you could never imagine," Cinder said with a sneer._

 _Beaten… but Pyrrha Nikos was not broken. She raised herself as high as she could go on her knees, staring defiantly ahead. "Do you believe in destiny?"_

 _At that moment Pyrrha knew her destiny. Her death would would directly lead to the downfall of the woman before her. Her death would lead to the world being saved. Pyrrha knew that with all of her heart and for the first time in days she felt peace._

" _Yes." The sneer turned into snarl and Cinder stood, hands reaching out to grasp the black bow that formed out of dust. She pulled back the string as an arrow appeared._

 _Pyrrha knew peace in her last moments. And then she knew pain. It bloomed from her chest, starting right above her heart and searing through her. Her body convulsed as the fire liquified her insides. She gasped, the sound coming out as a gurgle. And then she died, her body having been turned to dust from the inside out and scattered to the winds._

 _Neither Pyrrha nor her killer noticed the little girl with a red cape that launched herself over the side of the tower. They did not notice as she watched, mouth agape in horror as her friend died. With a scream the world turned into a flash of silver light. Cinder Fall noticed the little girl then as she screamed in fury as pure power ripped through her._

 _But Pyrrha Nikos was dead. She heard no screams. She saw no flash of light. She only knew darkness as her soul drifted aimlessly on the wind._

" _You're not done yet, child," a voice whispered to her_ _and Pyrrha gasped as life filled her._

Pyrrha sat up, fighting against the bonds that tried to hold her to the cold stone floor. She wrestled free of them and found a hand on her shoulder. She cried out and pushed the person away.

"Hey!" a voice yelled indignantly. "Calm down, dammit! I'm only trying to help!"

The voice snapped Pyrrha's mind away from blind panic back to reality. She was drenched in sweat, the fabric of her sleeping bag sticking to her. That was what had been restraining her. She quickly began to peel it away from her, relishing as the cool air touched her skin. It was only then that she noticed the blonde girl kneeling next to her and faces staring.

She felt her face begin to heat up before she finished peeling the entire sleeping bag away from her and stood quickly. Bare feet marched her across stone floors as she passed the rest of the prospective first year students for Beacon. Thankfully, many of them had not stirred at her outburst. What had that been about? She had been having a nightmare. Hadn't she?

Pyrrha reached the doors to Beacon's dining hall and opened them, slipping through only to shield her eyes from the early morning sun rising over the treeline. Regardless, the morning air was cool and it felt great. Pyrrha stood there, basking in the mixture of the sun's warmth and the cool air lingering from the night, and tried to remember what her nightmare had been about.

She had been fighting someone… and losing. But where? Why?

"Hey, are you alright?"

Pyrrha tried to climb into the air as she was ripped out of her thoughts. She turned, heart pounding, to see the same girl who had been kneeling next to her in the dining hall. The girl winced at Pyrrha's reaction and raised her hands defensively.

"I come in peace!" she said quickly.

Pyrrha breathed slowly, trying to calm her heart. "I'm sorry."

"You seemed like you were having a really bad nightmare," the explained. "And you were starting to get loud. I thought I should wake you up before you woke the entire hall. I guess it wasn't a great idea." The girl rubbed the back of her golden mane sheepishly.

Pyrrha sighed and shook her head. "Thank you. That was very kind of you." She tried to flash a smile. The blonde smiled back.

"I'm Yang Xiao Long," the girl said, extending her hand before silence could grow between them.

Pyrrha reached out and shook the girl's hand, giving her own name. Yang was a fellow first year, eagerly awaiting the test that they would have to complete later that day. The two girls spent the morning talking, enjoying the sunlight before it became time to return to the dining hall and grab breakfast from the tables that were being set up by a stern looking woman waving a wand back and forth. The entire time, Yang never once asked what Pyrrha's nightmare had been and for that Pyrrha was grateful.

To be honest, she couldn't remember anything about it. She absently raised her hand to her chest and scratched an itch that appeared over her heart as she sat down at a table with Yang and a young girl that turned out to be Yang's younger sister. Ruby had been accepted into Beacon after Professor Goodwitch had found her stopping a dust robbery.

"She really didn't seem to approve Professor Ozpin's decision," Ruby said between mouthfuls of food. "She thinks I'm too young."

"You are," Yang said rubbing her sister's head and fussing up the girls hair. Ruby gave a groan and tried to fend the older girl off. "Still a wittle baby."

"I'm telling Dad you were mean to me!" Ruby yelled.

Pyrrha found herself laughing at the girls antics. It had been a very long time since she had sat down with anyone her own age without them bombarding her with questions about her past. It seemed that the two girls didn't know anything at all of her past. As it was, she found herself standing in between the two girls as the first year students stood on Beacon cliff, listening to Professor Ozpin explain their exam.

They were to find a teammate, reach the temple at the north end of the forest below, find a relic, and guard it with their lives while they made their way back to the school. It seemed straightforward enough to Pyrrha. She glanced down the line of students, sizing them up. She wouldn't mind being on a team with either Ruby or Yang. Perhaps she could be on a team with both of them.

Her eyes came to rest on a blonde boy at the end of the line. Pyrrha had seen the small girl with white hair pin the blonde boy to the wall with ice back in the locker rooms for getting too close to her. Pyrrha noticed that he still had parts of his outfit encased in ice and he was picking at it, trying hard not to look at the white haired girl. If Pyrrha heard correctly that girl was Weiss Schnee. The heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. Being on a team with her could prove interesting… if the girl developed a better attitude.

Pyrrha turned her head to glance up the line of students. A small girl with bright orange hair stood next to an very tall boy. What drew her gaze was the giant hammer that the girl had draped across her shoulders casually, like it weighed nothing. She said something and a fond expression appeared on the boy's face, but he did not respond.

On the other side of the strange pair stood a girl with a large bow atop her dark hair. She seemed like she was trying to drill a hole into the air with how she was staring ahead of her and not at the very large boy wearing a breastplate that towered over her. The boy had an obnoxious smirk on his face. Pyrrha knew his kind immediately. Arrogant and cocky. She hoped she would not be on a team with him.

"Does anyone have any questions?" Professor Ozpin asked, causing Pyrrha to stop her observation of the rest of the students. To her left, she heard a strange sound and a student was shot into the air. So that was how they were reaching the forest. It was certainly much faster than climbing.

"Uh, sir," the blonde boy said, raising his hand. "About getting to the forest…"

The rest of the conversation was lost to Pyrrha as the platform she was standing on released and she went soaring into the sky. For a brief moment she closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation of the wind passing through her hair. She heard sounds other students weapons being used, propelling them along their designated paths. Pyrrha opened her eyes as gravity took a hold of her once again and readied herself to enter the canopy. Briefly she thought she heard a high pitched scream coming from behind her.

Pyrrha barely noticed the Ursa until she was practically on top of it. She had picked the first branch that appeared big enough to support her weight and used it as a springboard to carry her forward until she could be in control of her own momentum. Hopping from branch to branch she had made her way across the canopy until she decided it was time to begin descending.

She skid to a halt by driving her sword, _Milo_ , into the thick branch. She came to a complete stop just inches away from the sleeping Grimm. What the hell was it doing sleeping on a _branch_ fifty feet off the ground? Pyrrha felt the wind shift behind her and she leapt out into open air as the Ursa woke, red eyes zeroing in on her immediately. It lunged forward, claws outstretched and barely missed her.

Pyrrha, once again in a free fall, braced herself for the landing and rolled to soften the impact. For a brief moment she felt her aura take part of the hit then she was back on her feet, moving out of the way of the falling monster. The Ursa hit the ground with a bang, thick muscles absorbing the impact. It growled at her and took a step forward, rearing onto it's hind legs.

Raising _Akouo_ she let the Grimm's first swipe scrape off the shield. The Ursa's second swipe sailed above her head as she crouched low. She raised her sword so the point was aimed directly for the Ursa's throat, let go of the hilt and _pushed_. _Milo_ shot forward, aided by Pyrrha's semblance, and pierced the Grimm's brain. The beast shuddered and died, body turning into specks of black dust that disintegrated in the air.

Pyrrha breathed a sigh of relief as she stood, pulling _Milo_ back to her. She decided that she would have to keep an eye to the sky while in this forest. An Ursa dropping from above would kill her before she knew it was there. Pyrrha could hear sounds of fighting drifting towards her from deeper within the forest. She wasn't the only student to have encountered a creature of Grimm so quickly.

A smile appeared on her face. She was finally at Beacon. She was one step closer to her destiny of saving the world. Elation filled her and with that she picked the direction she thought was north and headed off into the trees.

XXXXX

Jaune Arc was not having a good day. He already harbored doubts in the back of his mind about being at this school, even after he worked so hard to forge his transcripts. His family history was full of great huntsmen and huntresses and he would be dammed if he didn't live up to that. His family was counting on him!

But as Jaune hung upside down from a tree watching hopelessly as two Beowolves took turns leaping for him, trying to snatch his head in their massive jaws, he began to wonder if he had made a mistake. Maybe a life of mediocrity would have been just fine for him. He didn't need to be known as the Great Huntsman Jaune Arc, Wooer of Women, Conqueror of Kingdoms. He could settle for being Jaune the Blacksmith or Jaune the Doctor.

He flinched and cried out as one of the Grimm came too close for comfort with those snapping jaws.

At this point, he would take Jaune the Bus Driver if it meant getting out of this tree with his head attached to his neck.

Jaune stared yearningly at his sword, lying on the ground below. It had slipped out of his sheath-shield sometime between landing in the tree and panicking when a freaky white light had surrounded him. He still had absolutely no idea what that was, not making the connection between the light and the fact that he was remarkably uninjured from his collision with the tree. As it was, having his shield out might be a good idea. He reached towards his belt and pressed the button on his sheath-shield to make it unfurl into the shield. And then he fumbled the metal as gravity took a hold of it, ripping it from his fingers.

He watched as the shield fell away from him, bouncing off the tree trunk before coming down point first. And sliced through one of the Beowolves' necks. Jaune stared in amazement as the creature's head went rolling through the dirt before it burst into specks of black dust. The remaining Beowulf howled in fury and redoubled its efforts to get up the tree.

With that kill being the definition of lucky kills, Jaune knew his luck for the day had run out. This was it. He was going to be eaten by a Grimm. He muttered a quick prayer and closed his eyes, waiting for the end.

Jaune expected to hear the sound of claws on wood before the end. Instead, he heard the sound of mad giggling and the Beowulf cried out in pain. He opened his eyes to see a tiny orange and pink blur zipping around the clearing below before connecting with the Grimm. The Grimm went flying into another tree and practically burst into black specks of dust on impact.

"Ah, that was fun," the girl said with a satisfied nod.

"Uh! Hi! Can I have a little bit of help here?" Jaune yelled as the girl started to walk away. The girl whipped around and looked up right at Jaune. A look a horror slowly appeared on her face.

"You're not Ren!" she yelled and fell to her knees. "This is the worst day EVER!"

XXXXX

Pyrrha stepped out of a particularly thick cluster of bushes, wincing as thorns tugged at her skirt. And found herself face to face with the dark haired girl with the black bow perched atop her hair coming out of the bushes on the other side of the clearing. A shocked expression passed over the girl's face, one that Pyrrha was sure she shared.

"Uh… hi," the girl said as she fully disentangled herself from the thorn bush. "I guess this means we're teammates."

"Right!" Pyrrha said. "I'm Pyrrha Nikos."

The girl gave her a look and Pyrrha nearly wanted to leap back into the bushes. Oh no…

"Aren't you the girl on the Pumpkin Pete boxes?"

Dammit… Pyrrha sighed and hung her head. "Yeah, that's me."

"That's cool," the girl said and held out her hand. "I'm Blake Belladonna."

Silence fell between the two only broken by the faint sounds of a scream in the distance.

"So we should go find the temple," Blake suggested.

"Right," Pyrrha nodded. She took a step in one direction as Blake took a step in another. The two stared at each other awkwardly before Pyrrha pointed in the direction she had been going. "Isn't north this way?"

Blake's eyes narrowed in confusion and she looked up, trying to peer at the sun through the green canopy above. Finally she shrugged and pivoted gracefully to fall into step beside Pyrrha.

Soon enough, after the most awkward silence of Pyrrha's life, they reached a large clearing to see the temple that Professor Ozpin had indicated. As they approached Pyrrha noticed that they were not the first to arrive. A smile appeared on her face as she recognized Yang standing next to the boy in a green tailcoat. Yang held a black chess piece in her hands. Pyrrha realized that there were several podiums spread out in a ring around the temple. Two black rooks stood atop two of the pillars. Pyrrha wondered if that was how the teams were decided.

Pyrrha looked at the piece in Yang's hands again and frowned. The other black knight piece had been taken. If that was how teams were decided then she couldn't be on Yang's team. Who did that leave?

"How's it going?" Yang asked brightly. She smiled at Pyrrha and then turned to Blake and gave a little wave. Blake rolled her eyes and ignored Yang, who introduced the boy next to her as Ren. Ren merely nodded towards them. He seemed to be anxiously searching the treeline for someone.

Before Pyrrha could speak she heard screaming coming from out over the trees. She whipped around just in time to see two objects collide in mid air.

"Was that your sister?" Blake asked incredulously. Yang grunted in confirmation.

"Who did she hit?" Pyrrha asked. "We should go help them out!"

Suddenly the treeline began to heave and a tiny blur shot out of it, giggling like a mad girl, with a Grimm Deathstalker on her tail. The orange-haired girl quickly zipped along the grass and put a considerable amount of distance between her and the Grimm before sliding to a stop in front of Ren.

"There you are!" the girl shouted. "I was worried sick for you! Why didn't you respond to my sloth calls?"

Pyrrha blinked in confusion. Sloth calls?

Ren merely walked up to the girl and slipped something into her palm before smiling at her. She looked down at the black horse in confusion before Ren bent forward and whispered something in her ear. A ear splitting grin was on her face when Ren stood back up and she reached out to bob the boy on his nose.

"Did you just bring a Deathstalker here?" Blake demanded.

The girl tried her best to look innocent. "Kinda. Did you guys see a blonde guy flying through the air? He was probably screaming like a little girl."

"He's in that tree, Nora," Ren said pointing.

"Oh," Nora turned and darted off without saying another word.

They heard more screaming coming from above and they all looked up to see the Schnee heiress falling from the talons of the largest Nevermore Pyrrha had ever seen. She watched mouth agape as the blonde boy leapt from the treetop to catch the girl in mid air, before the two plummeted to the ground. Nora reached the two and knelt down next to the blonde boy as Weiss stood up from the ground and began to dust off her skirt.

"Is she poking him?" Yang asked, turning to Ren.

"She does that," was his reply. "That Deathstalker is approaching them."

"Look out!" Pyrrha shouted her warning. As she did Ruby leapt from the top of the tree with a scythe in hand. She began to dart towards the Deathstalker, moving so fast that she became a red blur.

"Ruby, you idiot!" Yang shouted and took off after her sister.

A screech came from overhead and the Nevermore circled back around. It hovered in the air above the Nevermore and with a mighty flap of its wings giant quills rained down upon the ground. Right towards where Ruby was running. The red blur weaved her way through the falling feathers before one snagged her long cape, forcing the girl to a halt.

"Oh no," Blake whispered and Pyrrha clapped a hand to her mouth. None of them were going to be able to get there in time.

"Ruby!" Yang's shout was one of pure terror.

The Deathstalker reached Ruby and it's stinger lashed out for the girl. A flash of white zipped next to the giants feathers that were stuck in the ground and Weiss appeared next to Ruby, a white glyph disappearing from underneath her feet. With a flourish of her rapier the Deathstalker quickly become covered in ice, freezing its stinger just feet from Ruby. If the girl had been any slower…

Ruby succeeded in ripping her cape out from underneath the feather and she and the heiress quickly made their way away from the Deathstalker to the temple.

"That was good timing," Pyrrha told Weiss. The heiress just nodded as her eyes took in the temple.

"I think that thing is about to break free," Blake said, pointing towards the Deathstalker.

"And that giant bird doesn't seem too happy with us right now," Jaune said.

Pyrrha took another glance at the temple. "This isn't a great place to fight both of those things."

"We don't have to fight," Ruby said, once she had pried a concerned Yang off of her. "All we have to do is get these relics back to the cliff."

"You heard the girl. Whoever still needs to grab a relic, grab one and let's scram," Weiss ordered. Ruby smiled and mouthed thanks to the white haired girl before walking over to one of the pedestals and grabbing the black rook that sat upon it. Blake walked up next to her and grabbed the other rook.

"Which one did we get?" Pyrrha overheard Jaune asking Nora. Nora held up the black knight piece for Jaune, who quickly took it from the girl and put it in his pocket. Nora frowned at him for a moment before shrugging. Pyrrha heard her mutter something about wanting a castle piece instead of a stupid horse as she passed by.

"Let's go, everyone!" Ruby said and pointed towards Beacon cliff, no visible over the tree line.

"The Deathstalker is free," Blake said, glancing back towards the tree line.

"Double time!" Ruby yelled and began to usher everyone away from the temple.

The next ten minutes of Pyrrha's life were a crazy whirlwind that ended with her standing in between Weiss and Blake, watching the headless body of the Nevermore falling slowly from the top of Beacon cliff as Ruby stood at the top, staring triumphantly down at everyone. She heard the cheers of the others behind her, Yang cheering the loudest of everyone. What they had just pulled off was unbelieveable and by all accounts they should be dead. Yet here they stood, eight huntsmen and huntresses, in victory over two of the deadlier creatures of Grimm.

Pyrrha smiled to herself. Today truly was a sign that she would achieve her destiny one day.

XXXXX

"Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, and Yang Xiao Long," Professor Ozpin said, his voice booming across the auditorium where they all stood, along with the rest of Beacon. "You four collected the black rook pieces. For the rest of your time here at Beacon, you will be known as Team JNRY. And your leader shall be, Jaune Arc."

The auditorium erupted into cheering as Professor Ozpin congratulated Jaune. The newly formed team walked off the stage, faces beaming. Well… Jaune seemed shocked to his core, everyone else was happy.

Pyrrha stepped forward with Ruby, Weiss, and Blake.

"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Pyrrha Nikos, and Blake Belladonna," Professor Ozpin said. "You four collected the black knight pieces. From this day forward, you shall be known as Team RSPB. And your leader shall be, Ruby Rose."

Yang's cry of "Hell yeah, Sis!" rose easily over the crowd, earning the blonde a glare from Professor Goodwitch who stood off to the side of the stage.

"I'm the leader?" Ruby questioned, a look of disbelief appearing on her face to rival the one that Jaune had worn. Pyrrha patted the girl on the shoulder and offered her a smile.

"I think you'll make a wonderful leader," Pyrrha said and squeezed the small girl's shoulder. Ruby smiled nervously up at Pyrrha.

"Way to go, little sis!" Yang said proudly and wrapped Ruby in a hug as soon as Team RSPB got off the stage. "I'm so proud of you! You're a leader, just like Mom!"

"Wait until Dad hears about this!" Ruby exclaimed and started to bounce up and down with joy. "I can't believe I'm a leader!"

"Don't let us down," Blake said with a smirk.

A determined look passed over Ruby's face. "I will be the best team leader Beacon has ever seen! Mark my words! Weiss, Pyrrha, Blake," Ruby pointed to each of them in turn. "We're gonna be the best team that has ever passed through these halls!"

"Dream on!" Nora yelled. "That title will be ours, right fearless leader?" Nora slapped Jaune on the back again, knocking him out of another daze.

"What about me?" he asked, confused.

"You! Greatest team leader!" Nora poked Jaune in the chest, ignoring his small yelp. "We! Greatest team ever!"

"That was almost coherent," Ren said. "But I believe her point has been made."

"Well then Team JNRY," Ruby grinned roguishly. "Prepare to eat our dust! Come on Team RSPB!" Ruby turned on the spot and began to march out of the auditorium. "We have things to do!"

"But the ceremony isn't over yet!" Pyrrha hissed. Other students were beginning to stare at them. Ruby spun on one foot and stopped when she was facing the stage.

"Right! First we finish the ceremony. Then we become the best team ever!"

That night when Pyrrha fell into her new bed, she was utterly exhausted and thought sleep would come quickly. Her mind began to drift back over the day's events until they settled on her nightmare from the previous night. She still could not recall what it had been about. As sleep finally took her, Pyrrha couldn't help but feel that this was not how the day was supposed to go.

XXXXX

Cinder Fall leapt forward, twin daggers forming out of black dust appearing in either hand. She had to kill Ruby Rose before that power did anything to stop the plan she had worked so hard for. Whatever power the girl had, she would not have it for long!  
She felt carpet under her bare feet and halted in her charge. Ruby Rose no longer stood in front of her. In fact, Cinder was no longer standing in the remains of Ozpin's office. She was thousands of miles away from that man's office, in her bedroom back in the Kingdom of Mistral.

This had to be a trick.

She stalked forward slowly, bare feet now sliding soundless across the carpet. This had to be Emerald's work. She had an inkling that the thief would betray her. She always had had a weak heart. Except… the bare carpet felt _right_ under her feet. Could Emerald's illusions mimic feeling too or just fool what she would see?

Cinder knew what would decide this. She reached for the powers of the Fall Maiden. With those she would shatter whatever illusion had been placed on her, no matter who placed it. She reached for the sweet warming pool of power that had been flowing through her veins and touched it. The power filled her, raw energy coursed through her body. But this was different… it wasn't right.

It wasn't the full powers of the Fall Maiden.

Cinder abandoned all semblance of sneaking through her apartment instead sprinting to her bathroom. She shouldered open the door and flicked on the light to stare at the mirror. A lone orange wing of fire floated just above her right eye. And that was it.

She had lost the half of the Maiden's powers that she had spent months yearning for. Years of work gone just like that.

Cinder screamed.

Rage poured from her skin, taking shape as fire that leapt away from her. It began to consume everything around her, devouring everything in its path. When Cinder's scream subsided, her entire apartment was on fire. She heard cries from below and someone pulled the fire alarm. She did not care. Instead she walked calmly through the burning apartment, letting the fire dance across her skin. She barely felt the warmth anymore.

Cinder walked to her burning bed and knelt down, pulling a black crystal out from underneath the mattress. She raised it high and crushed it in her fist. The black shards turned to black dust that began to swirl around her, moving down in a slow spiral before settling on the floor, creating a black fog that began to swallow Cinder. She slowly sank through the portal, taking every second to reign in her rage.

She was going to see her Queen after all.

XXXXXXXXXX

Author's Note: Team JNRY is pronounced "January" and Team RSPB is pronounced "Raspberry". This will be updated every Thursday night (CST) with a new chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Life at Beacon

Pyrrha knew that with four girls living in one room, issues were bound to arise. She had always felt herself an easy going person and thought she could live peacefully with anyone. In truth, she got along great with the other three girls. Ruby was a little bundle of energy that was always eager to join Pyrrha on her morning workouts. Once Blake grew more comfortable with Pyrrha, the amber eyed girl was more than friendly. And finally, Weiss was… nice. If a bit full of herself.

It was when the other three interacted with each other that the issues appeared. Weiss grew angry every time Ruby opened her mouth and a perpetual frown existed on the heiress face whenever their leader was in the room. Whenever Weiss opened her mouth to say something, it always made Blake angry and the girl had made excuses to leave the room more than once in the past week. Whenever Blake stormed out, Ruby would run after Blake and come back dejected after being told, not kindly, to go away.

It was a vicious cycle and Pyrrha felt her patience wearing thin.

"I just don't understand it," Pyrrha said with a sigh. She was sitting at one of the tables in the dining hall, absentmindedly twirling spaghetti around on a fork while she recounted the many issues of the past week to Yang.

The two girls had become fast friends and upon realizing that they had most of their classes together they were beginning to spend more and more time in each others company. Ruby usually was right alongside them, always eager to spend time with her sister, but today she was finishing up her week with her elective. Ruby had spent all week gushing about how excited she was to take _Weapons of Huntsmen and Huntresses_ , even if it meant starting her weekend hours after all of her teammates who only had one of two classes Friday morning.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it," Yang said dismissively. "It's only been a week. They'll find a way to co-exist."

"Are you saying your living situation is perfect?" Pyrrha asked dryly. Now it was Yang's turn to sigh.

"If he calls me a firecracker one more time," Yang growled, stabbing her spaghetti violently with her fork. "I'm going to punch him out that window. I don't care how high up we are, Pyrrha. He's going out through the window."

"That might be a bit harsh," Pyrrha said with a nervous laugh. She wasn't serious, right? Pyrrha knew Jaune wasn't the most tactful of individuals, but throwing him out of a window might be too much…

"Oh it's no more than he deserves." Yang's fork grated against the bottom of her plate causing Pyrrha to wince.

"No more than who deserves?"

Pyrrha looked up to see Blake sitting down at the table next to Yang, a large tuna salad on her plate. Pyrrha blinked in surprise. That was the fourth day in a row her teammate had gotten tuna.

"Jaune," Yang muttered darkly.

"Ah," Blake said with a nod of understanding. "I heard him talking to Weiss this morning. She probably isn't too happy with him either."

"What did he say now?" Yang groaned.

"Something about being his little snowflake," Blake said. The girl's lips twitched in the ghost of a smile before she continued. "She slapped him."

"That'll teach him!" Yang said fiercely.

"Have you tried talking with him about it?" Pyrrha asked. "Maybe he doesn't even realize he's being offensive."

Yang stared at her blankly for a moment. "He… he has to realize… he can't be _that_ stupid!"

"Men can and will be," Blake said sagely.

Yang's head snapped around, a mischievous grin settling onto her face. "That sounds like there's a story behind it, Miss Belladonna."

Now it was Blake's turn to stare blankly. She blinked her amber eyes slowly then turned back to her lunch without answering.

"Anyway," Yang said turning back to Pyrrha. "How about you ask him if he knows he's being offensive?"

"M-me?" Pyrrha spluttered. "He's your teammate!"

"Well… yeah," Yang admitted. "But you're so much more diplomatic than I am! Besides, you have to be tired of it too."

Pyrrha gaped at Yang, trying to form a response. She was _diplomatic_? Since when? How?

"Now that I think about it," Blake said slowly. "I don't think I've seen Jaune hit on Pyrrha."

"That can't be possible," Yang said. "The only one he hasn't hit on is Ruby." She tilted her head thoughtfully for a moment. "Or Nora, come to think of it. I think Ren would be a bit angry if he did. Oh! There's a case of sexual tension if I've ever seen it."  
"Ren and Nora?" Pyrrha asked, eager to change the subject. "Wait, they're not already dating?"

The rest of their lunch continued in much the same way, gossiping about the other students like normal girls. Pyrrha had never thought she would like gossip, but she had never been around people just like her. It felt amazing, being able to be _her_ and feel like she was having a normal life. People treating her like just another student had not been something she had expected from the students at Beacon. Only a few of them cared who she had been, four time winner of the Mistral Regional Tournament, the Invincible Girl. But for the majority it didn't matter.

She was just Pyrrha Nikos, the first year. And it was amazing.

XXXXX

The weeks began to pass and Pyrrha settled into life at Beacon. The first round of tests came and went. Early during the second week of classes, Weiss had snapped at Ruby during a live test against a Boarbatusk when their leader had tried to give the heiress advice. Pyrrha still wasn't sure what had happened to the girl after she stormed off, but when Weiss had shown up later that night her attitude had completely changed towards Ruby. In response, Ruby had begun to take her studies much more seriously and seemed to triple her efforts into being the best team leader she could.

Ever since, the two girls had been nigh inseparable. Much of that time was spent studying. As such, Pyrrha was surprised when she discovered that Ruby had scored the highest out of their team in the first round of tests. It wasn't that she didn't have faith in the younger girl… but she had expected the girl to beat out Blake, let along Weiss. Pyrrha had decided that she grossly underestimated their leader.

The passing of the first round of tests didn't bring pleasant news for everyone. Team JNRY had obtained less than desirable results. The only studious person among them was Ren. Yang and Nora proudly proclaimed that they were passing and that was fine by them. And Jaune had barely passed his tests. The boy had also become the main target of Cardin Winchester, the schoolyard bully.

Pyrrha had been apprehensive of Cardin ever since she first saw him standing next to Blake on Beacon Cliff. Every interaction had just reinforced her desire to stay away from the boy. He was not a good person or as Blake would say, "An arrogant, racist, brute". Pyrrha frequently saw Cardin shoving Jaune or knocking his bag away, even bumping Jaune into his lunch at one point. Everyone noticed it happening. But Jaune insisted there was nothing going on so everyone stayed out of it.

Everyone except Yang.

"You know, if you ask her to, Nora will break his legs," Yang said idly at dinner one night when both Team RSBP and Team JNRY were eating together at a table. Jaune had just come back from buying his second tray of food after Cardin had 'bumped' into him. Pyrrha frowned at the boy as he laughed nervously next to Yang.

"Guys, nothing is going on!" he insisted.

"It doesn't look like nothing," Ruby chimed in. Jaune shot her a hurt look. Ruby raised her hands defensively.

"Looks guys," Jaune said. "Cardin is just messing around. It's nothing to worr-"

A loud snap froze Jaune mid-word. All eyes turned to Yang, who was holding the handle of her fork while the rest of it was stuck _in_ her plate. For a moment Pyrrha made eye contact with the girl and she was startled to see Yang's normally violet eyes were now red. They were accompanied by a scowl and she rounded on Jaune and began to wag her finger under his nose. The boys eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

"It is not nothing, dammit!" Yang said, her voice coming out in a low growl. "We have to sit here and watch this happen day after day and it is. Not. Nothing!" She began to poke Jaune in the chest with each word. "You act like a spineless puppy and let him walk all over you! You're a Huntsman! You're the leader of a team of Huntsmen! Have some pride and stand up for yourself!" Yang was yelling now and her hair seemed to be rising from her shoulders of its own accord, looking more like a crackling fire than golden locks. "If you aren't going to act like a Huntsmen then why are you even at this school?"

By the end of it Jaune was sitting on the floor, having fallen off the bench during Yang's tirade. He stared up at her, blue eyes wide with shock. Half of the dining hall was staring at them, including Cardin who wore a grin so large you might as well have just handed him the winning lottery ticket. The shock quickly disappeared from Jaune's face, replaced by a blank mask.

"You make a good point," he said monotonously. Without saying another word, Jaune stood up from the floor and quickly walked away.

"Yang," Ruby said with a groan. "That was going too far."

The blonde rounded on her sister, face angry and eyes still the color of fire. Then she hesitated at the look of determination on Ruby's face. With a blink, her eyes were violet again and a look of horror began to dawn upon her face.

"Oh."

"You need to go apologize!" Nora said. The orange haired girl quickly grabbed Yang's arm and hauled her away from the table. "Right now!"

Before Nora had Yang halfway to the door the blonde shrugged herself free of Nora's grip. The two quickly disappeared out of the large double doors to the dining hall. Ren followed them a few moments later, taking it upon himself to carry all of their bags.

XXXXX

Jaune held his head high as he walked out of the dining hall. Yang was absolutely right, he didn't belong here. He was failing his classes. He couldn't fight worth a damn. He would die within a minute as soon as his team encountered Grimm. Jaune was a failure. And he accepted that. It was time to leave Beacon and go home.

Before he fully realized what he was doing he was in his room, stuffing a duffle bag full of his clothes. He didn't have much in the way of prized possessions. Just a few books from home that he quickly stuffed into the bag along with his clothes. From there he headed to the locker room. His scroll buzzed along the way. He didn't even bother to look at who it was.

Jaune entered his code into his weapons locker without paying much attention and frowned when he had to redo it. His scroll buzzed again. Without thinking he tossed it into his duffle bag as he grabbed _Crocea Mors_ from where it hung in the locker. He would never be fit to wield the sword and shield, but someone else in his family might one day. Jaune strapped it to his waist without thinking and left the locker room.

Thus, Jaune Arc found himself standing in Beacon's courtyard where airship drop offs were a frequent occurrence. He stood staring out over the bay towards Vale. The city was lit up in the light of sunset. Unless he read the schedule wrong, there were still a few airships left for today. He would be on the next one out and in the city before night fully arrived. He could be back home by morning if he found a boat running through the night.

"Hello, Mister Arc. Going somewhere?"

Jaune nearly jumped as Professor Ozpin walked up to him, cane clacking against the stone tiles of the courtyard. His usual mug was in his other hand and he casually took a sip from it as he approached. Jaune stared at the man for a moment in disbelief.

"W-what are you doing here?" Jaune asked. He then cleared his throat and added, "Professor."

"The view from up here is quite beautiful," Ozpin said, coming to a stop next to Jaune. The setting sun reflected off his glasses, hiding the man's eyes from Jaune. "I like to watch the sunset where I can feel the wind, instead of from my office."

"Could you just open a window?" Jaune asked.

Ozpin chuckled at that. "I could, but it isn't the same. Smelling the salt from the sea is so much better when you can hear the waves."

Jaune glanced towards the cliff overhanging the small bay below Beacon. How could Ozpin hear the waves from this height? Was he exaggerating?

"Wouldn't you agree, Mister Arc?"

Jaune turned back to face Ozpin, frowning. "I guess so."

Ozpin made a "Hmmm" and turned back to looking towards Vale, across the bay. He took another sip from his mug. "You never answered my first question."

Jaune laughed nervously. "I didn't did I."

Silence fell between them, punctuated only by the sound of Ozpin sipping on his mug. For a moment Jaune could here his scroll buzzing again in his bag. He sighed. "I'm going home. I'm not cut out for this."

"What made you come to that conclusion?"

"I'm a horrible student. I'm barely passing any of my classes," Jaune said and once he started he could not stop. The floodgates had opened. "I can't fight. I'm just not cut out to be a Huntsman. I don't understand why you made me a team leader when I can barely hold a sword. All I'm going to do is get myself and probably everyone else on my team killed as soon as Grimm appear. They're so much better than me. All of them."

Jaune's fist was clenched tightly around the hilt of _Crocea Mors_ , causing his knuckles to turn white. He didn't notice. "They're all made for this. Seeing them fight in the forest was just… awesome. They killed those Grimm. They're meant to be Huntsmen. They earned their places here while I… I forged my transcripts."

Jaune's heart skipped a beat when he realized what he had said. And to whom he had said it. Well… what did it matter? What could the man do, kick him out? He was already leaving.

"I know, Mister Arc."

"Say what now?" The words slipped out of Jaune's mouth before his brain could catch up.

"The forgery was very well done," Ozpin said with a small smile. "In fact I might never have noticed if it weren't for your family name."

"My name?"

"If the great-great-grandson of Jonathan Arc was as good as your transcripts said, then I surely would have heard about you before the documents landed upon my desk," the Headmaster turned to look at Jaune. "But when I did some digging, I found out the truth. What was it like living with seven sisters?"

Jaune blinked. _That_ was what he wanted to know. "Uh…"

"I had four sisters myself," Ozpin said, ignoring Jaune's dumbfounded expression. "And I thought that was bad at times. I can hardly imagine having seven. Anyway, I'm getting off topic." The man cleared his throat after taking another sip from his mug. "You may have forged your transcripts, Mister Arc, but I felt that you might be benefit greatly from coming to this school."

"Why?" Jaune asked, his brain finally catching up. The Headmaster knew about his fake transcripts. And he had still be let into the school.

"I saw your potential and when you were in the forest with the other students I saw you live up to that potential. Yes, you might not be a strong of a fighter as your peers, but I saw you take charge of that battle. You used what little you knew of three strangers and defeated a foe that we had not intended any student to face. The cave is marked like that for a reason," Ozpin chuckled to himself again. "In all my years as Headmaster I have made many people team leaders and I have never been wrong. Not once. I believe you do belong here, Mister Arc. But if you disagree, then I will not stop you from leaving."

Ozpin turned and began to walk away from Jaune, his cane clacking against the stone tiles of the courtyard. Then he stopped and glanced back at the boy, glasses flashing in the setting sun. "You carry that sword the same way Jonathan did."

With that he was gone. Jaune stared after Ozpin, his mouth slightly agape. Did Ozpin know his great-great-grandfather? How old was the man? Jaune took a step forward, half intending to go after Ozpin. He had _so_ _many_ questions.

"There he is!"

And then a pink and orange blur slammed into him, knocking him to the stones of the courtyard.  
"Nora! We want to stop him not kill him!"

"Sorry!"

Jaune gasped for air as Nora rolled off him. That had hurt. A lot. He blinked and there was an outstretched hand in front of him, courtesy of Yang. He eyed it suspiciously before reaching out and grasping it. With barely a sign of effort Yang pulled Jaune to his feet.

"I'm sorry," she said as soon as Jaune was standing. "I said some things back there that I really shouldn't have said."

"Please don't leave!" Nora half sobbed. Jaune looked at her and was shocked to see what looked like real tears forming in the girl's eyes. Ren stood next to her, silently staring, as always.

"I don't want you to leave Beacon," Yang said, glaring at Nora. "Yeah, you really need to work on a lot of things." This time the glare came from Nora. "But we can work on them, as a team. Because that's what teams are for."

Jaune looked down at Yang, thinking to himself. Behind him he heard the sound of a Bullhead approaching. There would be one more after if he was still going to leave. But Ozpin had said that he belonged here. And this _is_ what he had wanted. To be at Beacon.

Yang was frowning and as he kept silent, thinking, her frown deepened. She opened her mouth to say something, her eyes flashing, but Jaune raised a hand for silence. To his surprise she closed her mouth.

"I forged my transcripts," he said. "I don't belong here."

"Oh." That was all Yang said. A blank mask appeared on her face as she studied him.

He heard the Bullhead take off behind him and he sighed. When it appeared that Yang wasn't going to say anything, he turned to stare back towards Vale. The sun was creeping below the horizon now. Soon the cities lights would be visible against the night sky. He had likely missed his chance of making it home by morning.

"Is that what you really believe?" Yang asked, quietly. Jaune glanced back at her. She was staring down at the ground.

"We don't care about that-" Nora began to say but Ren put a hand on her shoulder silencing her. Jaune heard a low whine of "But Ren!" but Nora didn't say anything else.

"I don't know what to believe," Jaune said.

"Then what do you want?"

After a moment Jaune turned fully towards her and said, "I want to be a Huntsman." For the first time in his life, Jaune felt like he meant that.

Yang lifted her head, a wolf-like grin on her face. "Then let's turn you into a Huntsman. On one condition!"

"What?" Jaune asked.

Yang stepped up close to Jaune and grabbed his shirt by the collar she pulled him in close and growled, "If you ever call me a Firecracker again, I will throw you from a very high place."

Jaune nodded quickly in agreement. Yang smiled brightly at him.

"Good! Now then, let's go finish our dinners!"

The last Bullhead came and went that night, picking up no passengers from Beacon. A man did step off it though. Or rather, he stumbled off of it, the scent of alcohol rolling off him in waves.

XXXXX

Pyrrha stood with Ruby, Weiss, and Blake as they watched Team JNRY walking back towards their dorms, laughing. The four girls of Team RSPB had arrived to find Jaune being trampled by Nora and had decided to keep their distance.

"I'm glad that worked out," Ruby said, sounding relieved.

"I am too," Pyrrha said.

"I'm actually surprised he's staying," Weiss said. "I mean, Yang is right."

The four of them began to walk back to their dorms, making their way across the courtyard to take a different path back, so they didn't run into Team JNRY.

"Luckily, that's not up to you," Blake said, glaring at Wiess. "You don't even want to give him the chance to improve."

"What's there to improve? He's Jaune," Weiss said as if that were the only thing that mattered.

Pyrrha groaned and closed her eyes. Not another argument...

"Do you guys remember those combination attacks I was working on?" Ruby asked suddenly.

"Yes!" Pyrrha said, just as quickly, eager to change the topic.

"I finally have some names for them. And I wanted to see if we could all agree on a time for us to practice them at least once a week."

"Where?" Weiss asked curiously, seeming to forget about what she had just said. "I assume that you'll want these to be a secret for the tournament next semester."

Ruby nodded.

"There are private rooms in the recreation building," Pyrrha said. "I think we can reserve them."

"I don't think a room is gonna be big enough for some of these," Ruby said after a moment. "Or safe for the structure of the building."

"Just what are you going to have us do?" Blake asked. She shot a glare at Weiss that only Pyrrha saw.

Ruby smiled toothily at them and launched into her list explaining her attacks. There was Ice Flower, where Weiss would infuse Ruby's bullets with blue Dust causing ice to flower on whatever service it hit. There was Checkmate, where Weiss and Blake could use Weiss' speed glyphs to catch an enemy between them and cut the enemy to shreds. Their leader listed off several more attacks as they walked, Scarlet Fever, North Pole, Ladybug. The list seemed never ending. And then she said something that made Pyrrha stop in her tracks.

Blake and Weiss froze next to her, blank looks on their faces.

"Ruby," Pyrrha said slowly. "Can you say that last name again?"

The girl stopped, already a few paces ahead of them. She turned back towards them and tilted her head. "Which one? Schnikos?"

"The one after that," Weiss managed to squeak out. Pyrrha glanced at her and saw the girl's face beginning to turn red.

"Pussy Magnet?"

Weiss erupted into a fit of giggles that had her falling onto the ground. Pyrrha alternated between staring at Ruby and staring at Weiss. She tried to think of something to say but her mind was blank. Blake just stood there, face as impassive as ever.

"No," she finally said, raising her voice to be heard over Weiss' cackling.

"But it's totally awesome!" Ruby said, half pleading.

"No," Blake said again.

"You don't even know what the combo would be," Ruby whined. "It's really cool! You and Pyrrha will-"

"I'm glad to see you are all having a good time," a voice said. Pyrrha spun around to see Professor Ozpin strolling out of the darkness. He tilted his head curiously at Weiss who was pushing herself to her feet, all signs of laughter gone from her.

"Oh. Hi, Professor!" Ruby said cheerfully.

Professor Ozpin smiled at her before he turned his attention to Weiss. "Are you alright, Miss Schnee? That must have been quite the joke."

"I'm fine!" Weiss said, breathlessly. After a moment she started to giggle again and clamped her hands over her mouth.

"How are you all enjoying Beacon?" Ozpin asked.

"It's great!" Ruby said quickly. Weiss nodded, still trying to stifle her next fit of laughter. Blake murmured an agreement.

Pyrrha just stood there, staring at him. She felt like she couldn't breathe. Suddenly her chest began to ache, right above her heart. The world felt like it was closing in around her. She felt trapped.

A hand on her shoulder snapped her back to reality and she looked around to see Ruby eyeing her with concern. Blake and Weiss were chatting lightly with Ozpin and none of them seemed to notice Pyrrha. Pyrrha flashed a smile at Ruby then rubbed at her chest. The ache was gone with only a faint itch to show that it had ever been there.

XXXXX

After a few minutes of asking the girls about their classes, Ozpin bid them a good night and headed down the path towards his office. His scroll buzzed and he glanced at it quickly to see a message from Glynda.

 _It's time for you to lock your liquor cabinet. Crows are getting into it._

Qrow was waiting in his office, not doubt to report the safe transfer of Amber to General Ironwood in Atlas. It was about time. He had something else he wanted the man to look into. The trio that had attack Amber and stolen half of their powers. At least one of them had been spotted in Vale a few weeks ago, working with a notorious gangster known as Roman Torchwick. The enemy was moving in Vale and Ozpin wanted to know their every move.

XXXXX

Cinder Fall knelt on warm stones. The air around her was dry and hot. Too hot for most to find it comfortable, but she relished in the heat. This was home after all.

"Rise," a cold voice spoke to her and a shiver ran down Cinder's spine despite the heat.

Cinder slowly stood, head still staring at the ground. Suddenly a black robed figure was in front of her and bone white fingers were cupping her chin. Her head was lifted, gently.

"You have not failed me, my daughter," the woman said. She smiled softly at Cinder and relief flooded through her. Her knees began to shake as adrenaline left her body, but she caught herself before they could buckle. "If your story is true, then I cannot fault you for it."

Salem, as the woman called herself, might have been human once. Now, there was no mistaking her for human. Black lines ran across her bone white face, stretching towards her eyes. Cinder shivered again as she made eye contact with Salem. The woman's eyes were black as night with pupils the color of blood glowing in the firelight. No, if she had been human once, it was long ago. Now she was the Queen of the Grimm.

And Cinder loved her like she had her own mother.

"We now have the rare opportunity to fix gaps in our knowledge," Salem said. Her voice seemed to echo around them. "And find out more about this girl with silver eyes. This Ruby Rose. When you return to Vale I want you to get close to her. Then when the time is right, bring her to me."

"Bring her here?" Cinder asked, hesitantly. It was not a good idea to question her Queen's orders.

Salem smiled at her, not unkindly, before she turned to face a desolate wasteland that stretched below them. Giant amethyst formations spotted the land below and Cinder could see hoard of Grimm roaming freely. As she watched, one of the formations began to writhe until a black goop fell from it. The goop burst into a cloud of black dust upon hitting the ground and a young Beowulf howled as it was born. This was the home of the Grimm. This was Cinder's home.

"It has been many years since I thought I eradicated the silver eyed warriors of this world," Salem said. Cinder had no doubt that the entire valley below could hear her. "Even still, some appear. I try to bring them to our side when they do appear."

"Why?"

"Because they are forces of nature," Salem said slowly. "Do you remember a woman who came here, almost a decade ago. You were still young."

Cinder swallowed. She remembered. "The woman in the white cloak." The demon in white that still haunted her dreams to this day. The woman had carved a path through the Grimm until she had done battle with Salem herself. Cinder watched that day, hiding from behind a rock as Salem was nearly killed. The devil in white had almost taken everything from Cinder and there had been nothing she could have done.

"She had silver eyes," Salem said.

"What is the power? It felt… greater than the maiden's power," Cinder said. She remember the wings that had appeared on Ruby Rose's face, much like the ones that she had when she grasped the full powers of the Fall Maiden. But Ruby's had felt so vast. Like an ocean compared to her lake.

"The answer to that was forgotten long before my time," Salem said, this time quietly. "We can only speculate at this point. That is why I have tried to destroy them."

"What do you think it is?"

Salem turned towards Cinder and spoke only one word. "Death."


End file.
